Nenjuku Needhi Review…a recycled script without a new touch

Year: 2022
Genre: Tradition, Police, Social Justice, Investigation, Crime, Drama
Cast: Udhayanidhi Stalin, Suresh Chakravarthy, Ilavarasu, Aari Arujunan, Mayilsamy, Tanya Ravichandran, Shivani Rajashekar, Abdool, Ratsasan Saravanan, Ramesh Thilak, Sayaji Shinde
Director: Arunraja Kamaraj
Writer: Arunraja Kamaraj
Cinematographer: Dinesh Krishnan
Summary: “If everyone is equal, then who will become the king? –The one who believes in the equality of all humans”
Nenjuku Needhi explores casteism in all its forms with Vijayaraghavan, a police officer, posted in an area where three low-caste girls have recently been raped: two of them hung on a tree, and one on the run

Overall Rating: Beignets
Please forgive us for being repetitive ‘cause we honestly don’t wanna sound like a broken record but…many scripts are being recycled these days without adding a new touch 😔
It’s fantastic to tell stories on casteism but if the main point is to glorify the lead actor, then the purpose is defeated…
~Yours To Explore~

Delicious
—The dialogues in Nenjuku Needhi were impressive and inspirational.
We actually wrote down some of the lines 🙂 Arunraja Kamaraj (the writer) intentionally challenged the status quo by raising valuable questions on patriotism and highlighting the hypocrisy of the caste system/division within the same caste.
“If everyone is equal, who will become the king?” Vijayaraghavan asked his wife who replied, “The one who believes in the equality of all humans.”
Even though we may admit that we’re equal, very few believe this as we all want to be superior to others. Powerful!
—A big applause to the art director & team for the realistic environments produced, especially the police station flooded by the septic tank
—The supporting cast and background actors ‘held the ship together’ in Nenjuku Needhi.
They were engaging and dynamic in their performances, big ups to Inspector Sundaram (Suresh Chakravarthy) who was constantly nervous, nosy, and evil, as well as police officer Malaichami (Ilavarasu), poor guy was confused by English words 😁
—The handheld camera movements intensified the melancholic mood of each scene notably during the beating and fighting segments

Bland
—The typical issue with movies on casteism is the glorification of the lead actor. Vijayaraghavan (Udhayanidhi Stalin) was portrayed as this messianic figure who came to town in order to blow a new wind of change.
He was the ideal police officer who enforced law & justice and was a savior to the weak & lowly
—Vijayaraghavan and his wife Adithi (Tanya Ravichandran) mostly had a one-note facial expression throughout the movie
—Are movies about casteism made more for publicity’s sake or to revolutionize people’s attitudes? The majority of these films don’t even use actual low-caste individuals as lead actors or supporting cast. It’s as if they’re just showcasing the wrongs of society without truly being the change